Tag: worship

What Kind of Christian Will You Be?

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment 
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV)

Every day you make a choice that has an impact on eternity. Do you believe that? Don’t answer too quickly, because it’s easy to either scoff at such an idea or, perhaps even more dangerous, to quickly nod your head without ever stopping to consider this truth. I believe this principle about the gravity of this daily choice is found all through Scripture. Once you see it, it begins to appear everywhere.

Before taking his final breath on earth, Joshua urged the people of Israel with these words:

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:14-15, NIV)

Do you recognize what Joshua is saying? Every day, we choose whom we will serve, how we will live, and what we will prioritize? Will you serve the gods of this world (money, comfort, pleasure, sex, power, control), or will you serve the Lord, the living God who reigns from Heaven?

Is the Lord undesirable to you, or is He your greatest Treasure? To whom or what will you give your life? Each day you make that choice, consciously or unconsciously. But for that choice you will be held accountable.

Let me back up this claim with some Bible:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he/she has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)

This applies to every believer. Notice, Paul says “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Salvation is all by grace, but the daily choices and deeds done in the body directly impact rewards received.

Again:

“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God… So then each of us will give an account of himself/herself to God.” (Romans 14:10-12, emphasis added, ESV)

Are you prepared to “give an account” of yourself to God? Make the commitment today to live in light of the end, when you stand before the Judgment Seat of God and Christ.

Many people tell themselves that the choices they make don’t matter… after all, God is gracious and forgiving. So what’s the big deal?

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-10, ESV)

Many are deceived. Don’t be counted among them. Live each day knowing that whatever you reap, you will also sow. God will not be mocked. He is not manipulated or cajoled. But He is for you in Christ, which is why He gives these warnings and reminders. Because the world will attempt to cloud our vision and deceive us into thinking what we do each day doesn’t really matter in the end. But it does.

We need to number our days to get a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We need to make the best use of the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). One day, our work–our daily choices–will be tested by fire, resulting in reward or loss (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). If you are a Christian, one day, God will call you home to be with Him, and you will have to give an account. Are you ready for that day? If you are not a Christian, you need to stop living for yourself (repent), acknowledge the God who made you, and put your faith in the living Lord, Jesus Christ, who died the death you deserve for all your sins on the cross. Then, begin a life of daily surrender to Him alone.

So number your days. Live each day in light of the end. Embrace the mercy and forgiveness available to you in Christ. Offer up your body as a living sacrifice to Him, because that is true and spiritual worship (Romans 12:1-2).

You get to decide what kind of Christian you will be. Will you be the half-hearted, half-engaged, bored, and drifting Christian, who merely goes with the flow and never takes a stand or boldly steps out in faith to where God is calling you? Or will you be the Spirit-filled, knee-bowing, totally committed, all-in Christian who knows that each day you must “die daily” so that Christ will be manifest in your life?

We are called to live in daily surrender to the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus gave His life for you. Will you give your life each day for Him?

Are you interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and what He’s done for you? I’d love to hear from you!

The Supremely Happy God

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment 
So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:21-22, ESV)

In Genesis 1, we read that before God created the first human pair, He created all the animals, in their wide and glorious variety.

As I read the Genesis creation account, something I notice is how much God seems to be enjoying Himself as He creates. Six times, it says He “saw that it was good.” And then the seventh and final time, after creating man and woman, He caps it off by saying creation is “very good” (Genesis 1:31). 

Think of the satisfaction you feel when, after long hours of hard work, you finally finish a project. That gives us a glimpse at how God viewed His creation. He’s like a Master Craftsman who has finished His carefully built project and then leans back and smiles with satisfaction.

The Bible highlights God’s sheer joy in being God and His delight in all He has made.

Just as He was satisfied in His finished creation, Scripture highlights how God providentially cares for His world and gets involved in providing for all our needs.

“He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; 
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.” (Psalm 104:13-15, ESV)

God is not a hands-off God. He shows a deep affection for all He has made.

This helps reframe our understanding of God. So often we think of holiness as being serious or morose. Maybe even boring. And since God is holy, we then make the mistake of picturing God as having a permanent frown on His face, as if it’s His nature to be cold and austere.

But I want you to see from the Bible that creation highlights God’s sheer joy at being God and His pleasure in all that He has made. 

Frankly, to think that the God of this universe is boring is just so absurd! All you have to do is take a look at some of His creatures to rule out that idea. Take a look at the Aye-aye, and remember, God invented the glowing eyes and crazy-long fingers of this fascinating creature. 

Or take one look at the face of the Proboscis monkey and tell me if you think God has a sense of humor.  Then there’s the aptly named shoebill. One of the weirdest looking things is the blobfish. It looks like it’s part pig or something. But it’s a fish!

But this same God also created the beautiful tiger with its stripes and the energetic dolphin that leaps across the surface of the ocean. When we know these creatures are the handiwork of the Almighty, we begin to understand more of His character and nature.

I don’t know about you, but if we’re not careful, it’s easy to think of God as Someone who is constantly annoyed with us. Without question, sin grieves Him, but if you belong to Jesus Christ, you need to know God is not up in Heaven with arms permanently crossed when He looks at you. He’s not just waiting for you to mess up again so He can wag a finger at you. 

No, God delights in who you are as His precious creation! David exulted in how God had made him. 

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13).

Zephaniah speaks of how glad God is to call you His own:

“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT)

When you’re wondering, What does God really think of me? Meditate on passages like this. God, in His very being, is a happy God. He’s not up there pouting all the time. It would be more accurate to say He’s smiling for sheer joy at being God.

Even that idea of God delighting in being God might sound strange to you. But I think that’s because the Church hasn’t always done a great job of emphasizing this truth. At the core of His being, God is ablaze with infinite happiness, and His great desire is that we would find in Him the happiness for which we all long.

“The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” (Psalm 126:3, ESV)

In 1 Timothy 1:11, Paul calls God the “blessed God,” which is probably better translated as “the supremely happy God.”

Later in that same letter, Paul talks about certain religious guys who have made up all these rules about things you can’t eat and can’t do. It’s like they feel the need to put caution tape around God’s good creation. And Paul’s response is:

Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5, ESV)

The gnostics of Paul’s day believed that the physical world of matter was the creation of a lesser god. They saw the body as something to be escaped. But God delights in His creation, and He designed human beings with physical bodies that can interact and enjoy the world He created. 

Certainly, there are rules in the Bible, but the Bible is not primarily a book full of rules. Rather, God’s Word helps us enjoy God’s good creation more, because it teaches us to trace the enjoyment of His creation back to Him, who is the Fountain of all joy.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You for being a God of supreme happiness who delights in all He has made as a Master Craftsman. Help me take joy in your creation with fresh vigor, recognizing all that I see has been made by You with purpose and beauty. Help me to seek to live more joyfully in line with Your purposes. You are the God who gives me joy! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

If you have thoughts on this post, I would love to hear from you.